Dragons: The Wrath of Aura
by epicNightFury503
Summary: When Trader Johann mysteriously disappears, the riders must take action once again. But, when Hiccup gets abducted by a powerful being, he's forced to decide between his life, and his friends'. What will happen when this magical beast is unleashed? There are some things we have to find the answers to...


# Dragons: The Wrath of Aura #  
The Wrath of Aura

Prologue

Twenty years before Hiccup was born...  
"Aura! You have used your power for evil! Thus, you will be exiled from Nighthaven and concealed for the rest of your life!" The raging Night Fury stamped his paw on the ground and snorted blue flame out of his nose. Aura flinched. "But-," the slender purple dragon stammered. "NO!," the alpha Night Fury roared. He was a muscular, dark greyish-blue dragon with a single navy blue bolt down his forehead. "Guards! Take her away!" Aura was chained up and locked in a cave that was sealed with Night Fury magic, the most powerful of all. She lay in the dark, crying, wanting to apologize. It wasn't her fault she had done something "evil". She was young, and didn't know how to use her magic yet. Then, as her sadness went away, her anger festered. They hadn't even given her a chance to explain. "Hah," she thought. "You want evil? I'll show you evil! I'll be as evil as a dragon can get, and then some! You just wait, Nighthaven citizens!" Aura grinned with wickedly sharp teeth in the darkness, her eyes glowing bright blue in malevolence.

Ch. 1

"Hiccup! What ARE you making in there? How come it always takes so long?"  
Astrid was leaning in the doorway of the smithy, watching sparks fly as Hiccup hammered. "You'll see!" Astrid sighed and rolled her eyes. "Every single DAY, Hiccup!," she said. "What is it with you and metalworking? Spend time with something LIVING for once!" Hiccup grinned and shook his head, pulling off his gloves. Astrid could be so impatient sometimes. "Okay, fine!," he shouted playfully. "You better work on your manners, miss!" Astrid laughed and handed Hiccup his vest. Hiccup pulled it on and smiled at Astrid, who returned the gesture. Hiccup gave a short, sharp whistle and suddenly Toothless appeared in the doorway, tongue hanging out, tail wagging, wriggling uncontrollably. "Hey, bud," Hiccup said, rubbing the Night Fury's head. "What's up?" "What is he so excited about?," Astrid said, scratching Toothless's ear. His eyes were wide, the pupils slits, and he looked extremely frightened. Hiccup frowned worriedly. "Let's go find out." He took a step out of the smithy and Toothless leaped in front of him, shaking his head and yipping. Hiccup tried to sidestep the dragon, but Toothless was too fast. He kept shaking his head and whinnying. "No, Master!," he was saying, though no one could understand him. "You HAVE to stay inside! It's-it's-it's too dangerous!" "Hiccup," Astrid said, taking a step back. "I think he wants us here..." Hiccup looked at the Night Fury. Toothless was a muscular, sleek black creature with fainter markings on his sides and back. He had a strong, fearless personality, and, as the ultimate dragon species, Night Furies weren't supposed to be afraid of anything. But, Toothless was deathly afraid of something, and whatever it was wasn't good. Then, something screeched and a flash of blue filled the sky. Something was shouting and screaming defiantly, in Norse, and it-or, should I say, SHE, didn't seem too pleased. Toothless wimpered and rushed into the smithy. Astrid grabbed Hiccup's arm involuntarily. "Hiccup..." Hiccup's eyes were wide with terror, and suddenly he remembered. "GO! GET INSIDE!," he ordered Astrid, even though he knew this wouldn't work. It was Aura, the very dragon he had been captured by a week before, who swore she'd get her revenge on everyone, no matter the decision Hiccup made. After he'd decided, Aura had erased his memory of the event temporarily and sent him back to Berk. Now Hiccup knew what Aura had been talking about, and that she was right. Nothing could stop her now...

Ch. 2

A little over a week ago...

Hiccup was in his room, drawing maps and the different dragons he expected to encounter on this so-called "field trip". Astrid had planned it, and whenever Astrid planned something for the Academy, it usually was fun for her and physically painful for everyone else. Hiccup wrote down the last statistic for Changewings and folded up the map. "Well, Toothless," he yawned. "Bed time. And, I know you're hungry-quit giving me that pitiful look. You know you can just go down and get a fish from the cellar, you lazy dragon! No, I am NOT getting it for you, so stop grumbling!" Hiccup pointed down the stairs and the Night Fury sulked down them, mumbling obscene comments in dragon-speak. Hiccup sighed and shook his head. Toothless was in a mood again, and when he was in a mood, nobody had fun. Hiccup pulled off his vest and hung it on the bedpost next to his helmet. He bit his lip. That helmet was made from his mother's armor. Hiccup wondered if he'd ever see his mother again. He was so young when... Hiccup shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thought. He avoided looking at the stuffed dragon Valka had made him when he was only nine months old as he crawled in bed. While drifting off, Hiccup recalled his father telling him the dragon's story. "Your mother made that for you when you were but a wee child. You were so terrified of the thing that you hurled it off the docks when we were on a family fishing trip." "How was it found?," Hiccup had asked while holding the dragon. "I don't remember it at all." "Well son, it was found by Gobber while pulling in fishing nets. He knew the importance of it to me, to our family, and he had it put in a special chest on some other island. Johann picked it up, and that's when he got lost." Hiccup smiled as he remembered his reaction to the toy. "It's so weird to think that I was afraid of dragons," he had said. "Especially now that I have the most powerful one in the world." Hiccup was startled by the sound of Toothless plodding up the stairs and licking his chops, still moody about the previous event. "Toothless," Hiccup said, sitting up. "Get your lazy tail over here." Toothless huffed and stalked over to his master's bedside. Hiccup hugged the dragon's head and rubbed the spot Toothless could never reach, right between his sonar-receptor-things. Toothless purred and pressed against his master. "I forgive you." Hiccup laid all his weight against the creature, breathing in the powerful blend of smoky, campfire-smelling scales and fishy breath. "Toothless," Hiccup whispered. "You're the best friend I've ever had...you know that, don't you?" Toothless opened his eyes and looked up into Hiccup's, his green cat's eyes against Hiccup's green human ones. Toothless's pupils dilated and he purred in aknowledgement. "Yes, Master, I do know that. You are a brother to me, that's how close we are." Though Hiccup couldn't understand the dragon-speak, he knew what Toothless was saying. "I don't care what others say," Hiccup said. "You're not just a dumb, useless lizard. You're smart and almost human. I won't let anyone tell you you're worthless." Toothless moaned contentedly. "I'll do just the same, Master." Hiccup rubbed Toothless's head. "Don't worry, bud. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." Toothless smiled and rubbed his head against Hiccup. "Having a little pep-talk, were you?"  
Hiccup jumped at the sound of Astrid's voice. He looked up at the skylight above his headrest, and Astrid was perched in the corner of it, a warm, affectionate smile on her face. Hiccup loved Astrid's smile; it was the kind of smile that made anyone happy and want to throw away their troubles. It was almost perfect, with one corner that was always a little higher then the rest of it.  
Astrid jumped down from the skylight and landed on the bed next to Hiccup. "You heard that, didn't you?," Hiccup said, a hand on Toothless's head. "Oh, I heard all of it," Astrid said, grinning. "And, the thing is, I totally agree. You two are best of friends, to the point where you could have been brothers." Astrid sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest, glancing at the toy her friend's mother had made for him. "You okay, Hiccup?," she said sympathetically. "You only ever get this 'I will make sure nothing happens to you' attitude when something is bothering you. And, don't lie to me like you always do. 'Oh, everything's fine, Astrid. I'm not worried about anything. Do I look worried to you?' Yeah, don't pull that. You're not gonna tell me that it's the 'field trip' tomorrow, 'cuz I know it's not. I want the truth." Hiccup sighed. "Well, it's just that...," he started, then he stopped and sighed again, rubbing his dragon's ears for comfort. Astrid reached over and took Hiccup's hand in hers. "Hiccup," she whispered. "Just get it out. That's what I'm here for." Hiccup took a deep, shaky breath. "I just," he said, trying to keep his voice from breaking. "I...wanted to know my mother. I heard all sorts of stories about her from my dad, but I never knew her. You know that. The whole village does. I was just so young when she..." Astrid looked at Hiccup sadly, feeling for him. The entire population of Berk knew what happened to Hiccup's mother, and no one liked to talk about it. What really grabbed at Astrid's heart, though, was that Hiccup really wanted to know who his mother was, and that he was willing to tell her about all this. Astrid wrapped her arms around him and cried silently, not for her, but for Hiccup. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I wish there was something I could do." Hiccup hugged Astrid back. "This is all I needed," he whispered back, his eyes filling with water. "All I needed was a hug." He and Astrid sat there, in total silence, for almost the rest of the night, Hiccup thinking about how much he loved having Astrid there to comfort him.

Ch. 3

"Okay, riders, I've moved the 'field trip' back a day, due to...technical...difficulties."  
The other dragon riders rejoiced, getting one more day before they went out to meet with certain doom. Hiccup and Astrid smiled. The riders had no idea what "technical difficulties" meant. It meant, "I didn't get good sleep last night because I was helping my boyfriend with some personal issues and because of that he needs a day off". But, they didn't care. They just wanted no pain, oblivious of the emotional pain Hiccup was going through. Astrid laid a hand on Hiccup's back. "How're you feeling today?" Hiccup sighed, trying to forget his worry. "Weeeeeeelllll...," he said uncertainly. Astrid's face softened in a sympathetic, yet worried, way. "I'll take that as 'I still feel pretty horrible and could really use another hug right now'," she said. Hiccup cracked a half-hearted grin, staring at the ground sadly. "Yeah, that's pretty much it right there." Astrid gave him a quick hug, then grasped his hands fondly. "It'll be okay, Hiccup," she said. "You'll be fine." Hiccup sighed, and Astrid hugged him again, this time longer. "I hope you're right," Hiccup whispered. Astrid pulled away and looked him in the eye. "I hope so, too."  
"HICCUP!"  
Hiccup and Astrid jumped at the sound of Stoick's bellow. "Yes, dad?," Hiccup called back, regaining orientation. "Son! Trader Johann is in the middle of a huge dragon fight off the shores of Blackrock Isle! I want all the riders there, NOW!" "Blackrock Isle?," Hiccup said. "Why is he there? That's supposed to be a horribly dangerous island, with sharp seastacks, and it's thought to be haunted." Astrid eyed Hiccup worriedly. "Why, exactly?," she said. Hiccup turned to her. "It's like Breakneck Bog, except the rocks are all pitch black, really sharp, and, where as some boats come back from Breakneck, no ships ever, EVER, return from Blackrock. No one has made it back...alive, anyway." Astrid got a look of terror on her face, which was extremely rare. "W-why is y-y-your f-father sending us there, th-then?," she whispered. Hiccup sighed. "He doesn't believe in all that 'superstitious rubbish', as he refers to it," he explained. He then turned to the other teens. "Riders! Mount up! We're going to help Trader Johann!" "Where?," Fishlegs asked worriedly. Last time they rescued Johann, they nearly got eaten by Smothering Smokebreaths while trying to find the chest that held the toy Valka had made her son. The whole while, Hiccup thought it was for Stoick, but it was actually for him.  
"We're going to Blackrock Isle...unfortunately...," Hiccup sighed. Fishlegs screeched and huddled under Meatlug. Snotlout turned white. The twins fainted, and Barf had to breathe gas in their faces to wake them up. Snotlout ran up to Hiccup and shook his shoulders. "Why?! Why is that madman Johann at Blackrock?!," he shouted. "How should I know?," Hiccup said. "All I know is that we have to go help him, and that my father won't be too pleased if we don't." "Uh, why can't Stoick go?," Tuffnut said. "He IS the chief." "I don't know!," Hiccup said impatiently. "Quit asking me all these questions I don't know the answers to!" Astrid grabbed his arm gently, and he could feel her hand shaking. "Hiccup," she said, trying to look braver than she felt. "Why don't we just leave and get this over with?" Hiccup nodded. "Let's go!"  
By the time Blackrock Isle came into view, the sky had filled with gray clouds that looked like they were about to dump all their watery contents onto the Archipelago. The mountain in the center of the island was huge, and you couldn't see how far up it went. Toothless felt something strangely familiar about this place, but he couldn't put his paw on it. "Where have I seen this before?," he thought.  
The riders circled the isle three times, but saw no trace of Trader Johann or his ship. Then Astrid spotted something. "Hiccup...," she said in a shaky voice. "L-look..." Hiccup looked down into the water, and saw a ripped sail that looked as if multiple dragons had ripped into it and burnt it, but Blackrock Isle was supposed to be uninhabited, by Vikings or dragons. He got a sinking feeling in his gut. Maybe all those rumors were true...  
As Hiccup scanned the water, he saw burnt wood, oars, and tradable goods floating and washed up on shore. He sighed. "Riders! Let's look for Johann on the mainland!" "WHAT?!," the other riders yelped. "We have no other choice!," Hiccup shouted back over the wind. "Either we return and say we that we didn't even try, or, if there's a chance we can help him, we can! What would be better?!" The others silenced for a minute, considering their options. Finally, Astrid spoke up. "You're right. We need to at least try to rescue Johann." Hiccup looked at the other riders. One by one, they began to nod. "Okay," he said. "It's decided! We'll look on the mainland, and if Johann isn't there, we'll head back! Got it?!" The riders headed inland, into the death-trap of the cold Nordic waters.

Ch. 4

The riders had each split up to search different areas of the island. At first, Astrid had argued with Hiccup for a few minutes while the others headed off.  
"What?! No! I'm going with you!" "Astrid," Hiccup had said. "We have a better chance of finding Johann if we go seperate ways." At this, Astrid had folded her arms and glared at Hiccup. "But, it's too dangerous!," she had protested. "You don't know what's out there!" Hiccup had grinned at this comment. "I WILLINGLY attacked a giant, man-eating dragon, flew around it as it exploded, got my leg burned off, and survived. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to handle this." "No, you won't! I know you won't!," Astrid had argued. Hiccup looked her in the eyes solemnly. "Do you truly know that?," he said. "Or are you saying that because you know you won't be able to and that you feel safer if you come with me?" At this point, Astrid had turned red and looked at the ground, shuffling her feet. "That's exactly what it is," she had mumbled. "I just...well, at least, around HERE, anyway, I don't exactly...I don't..." Hiccup had smiled and put a hand on Astrid's shoulder. "Astrid," he had said. "You'll be fine. Don't worry. You were fine when I left you on Dragon Island while I stalled the Screaming Death, weren't you?" "Yeah, but I wasn't alone on an island that's supposed to be haunted and uninhabited. Besides, there were three other living beings on the island with me. I had Stormfly, Fishlegs, and Meatlug, although those two wimps wouldn't have been much help if I got attacked." "Well," Hiccup had reassured. "You know that, if anything happens, I'll be the first one there, and the last one to leave. Okay?" Astrid had nodded and hopped on Stormfly, giving Hiccup one last glance before she flew off.  
Now Hiccup was alone with Toothless in the heart of the island, constantly looking over his shoulder and hearing things that probably weren't even there. At one point, Hiccup thought he heard voices from up above him. He had flung his head up and reached for his dagger, but nothing was there. Just dark grey clouds and a huge obsidian mountain reaching all the way to Valhalla. Little did he know that there WAS something up there, a whole BUNCH of somethings, in fact, and they were watching him, whispering in their own language. Once those somethings caught sight of Toothless, though, they all hushed in awed silence, though Hiccup heard nothing of the sort. Toothless's ears pricked and he looked up at the clouds, swearing he heard something familiar. But "nothing" was there, and Toothless shook his head.  
Hiccup rounded a corner and stopped in his tracks. A pile of rocks were just sitting there, but bright blue smoke was twirling out of the hairline cracks. The rocks looked as if a professional stonemason had filled in the cracks to make them impenetrable. The rocks glowed and sparkled slightly with a dark purple tinge, as if some sort of magic substance had been poured over them. The blue smoke still came out, however, and it was filled with tiny glowing particles that were definitely NOT sparks. Hiccup took a cautious step towards the pile, and something hissed from inside. Then, an enormous clap of thunder filled the air, though there was no lightning, and suddenly everything went dark. Hiccup could see the glowing smoke in front of him, and the rocks were glowing even more purple. He blinked, and then he had the sudden feeling of being in a smaller space with the smoke winding around him like a snake spirit. Meanwhile, the light had returned outside, and Toothless was running around frantically and whinnying for his master. "Hiccup! HICCUP! MASTER! Where are you?!"

Ch. 5

"WHERE IS MY SON?!"  
The riders had returned to Berk, Snotlout having found Johann perched on some rock pinnacle a hundred feet in the air. When they landed, Stoick was there immediately and bellowing. Once he yelled, questioning his son's whereabouts, Astrid felt like she was going to panic.  
"W-we thought he was h-here already," she said, trying not to explode. "Oh no," she thought. "I should've gone with him. He never should've gone by himself! I knew this was gonna end badly! Oh, where is he?!" "DO YOU KNOW WHERE HE IS?!," Stoick bellowed. "Uh, no," Fishlegs said. "There's a reason why people tell those stories about Blackrock. Number one, they're true, for Thor's sake!" Astrid was wringing her hands worriedly. "Please don't say that, Fishlegs." "And number two," Fishlegs continued. "They dont want people going there and disappearing forever and ever and ever and ever and-" "SHADDUP!," Astrid exclaimed fearfully. "YOU'RE NOT MAKING THIS ANY BETTER, YOU MUTTONHEAD!" Stoick turned to Astrid and put his hands on her shoulders. She was shaking, terrified for Hiccup, and she had gone completely white. "Calm down, lass," Stoick said. "What do you want to do about this? Sit here and burst everyone's eardrums because you're scared for your boyfriend-" "He is NOT my boyfriend!," Astrid protested. "Or," Stoick continued, ignoring Astrid, for he knew her claim wasn't true. "We can go look for him and get him back." "Yes," Astrid said, nodding eagerly. "We will do that. Riders! We're gonna go back to look for Hiccup!" "Uh, I'd love to, really, I would," Tuffnut said. "But, I'm not going back there." "Same here!," Fishlegs said. "Yeah, you go do that," Snotlout said. "Fine, then," Astrid huffed. "WE'LL go, and you guys can live the rest of your life with a wimpy reputation for not going to save the future world's greatest chief of the Hooligan tribe from Blackrock Isle 'cuz you were scared." "Yeah," Snotlout said. "We're cool with that." Stoick sighed and whistled, calling his new dragon, Skullcrusher. The Rumblehorn landed with a thud and bowed his head, inviting Stoick to get on. "You four," he said to the remaining riders. "Take Johann to the Great Hall and feed him; he looks a little traumatized. Get Gobber and find out what you can from Johann about the attack. Astrid and I will look for Hiccup." "Yes, sir," the riders chorused. With that, Stoick and Astrid took off towards Blackrock Isle.

In the dark cave, Hiccup felt he was being watched. He sensed a heavy presence in the enclosed space, and it felt evil. Instinctively, he drew his dagger and turned around and around, eyeing the strange blue smoke warily.  
"Who are you?!"  
Hiccup jumped and whipped around, brandishing his dagger. "Why do you want to know?!," he called into the darkness. "Aah, you are a smart one," the voice observed. It was a female voice, and it sounded hoarse from lack of use. It also had a quality to it that made Hiccup nervous; she didn't sound human. The voice didn't sound as if she was supposed to speak the human tongue, as if she was an animal. But Hiccup knew animals couldn't talk, and that she probably hadn't spoken in quite a while as a reason for her oddness.  
It was silent for a moment, and Hiccup could feel the presence thinking. He started again when she spoke again. "So, Viking," she said. "What brings you to Nighthaven?" "First of all," Hiccup said. "How do you know I'm a Viking?" "I can sense things," the voice said nonchalantly. "Comforting," Hiccup said. "And second, I thought this was Blackrock Isle, not 'Nighthaven'. Did it used to be Nighthaven?" "You are either incapable of understanding the dragon-speak, or you are simply ignorant," the voice said, thoughtful. "The 'dragon-speak'?," Hiccup questioned, waving away a tendril of smoke that was weaving around his hand as if it had its own life. "Wow," the voice said. "You Vikings have changed a lot in the last thirty-six years." "What do you mean?," Hiccup asked. "Last time I saw one," the voice said. "A few were capable of understanding the dragon's language; their squawks, roars, and screeches. However, they only used that to interrogate the imprisoned ones, who wouldn't talk, and then they'd just be killed." "Can you understand the 'dragon-speak'?," Hiccup said. "'Cuz, you sound like an expert on it." "Pah!," the voice said, her mood suddenly indignant. "But of course! Have some respect!" "Okay," Hiccup said, changing the subject. "How about you tell me why you brought me here." "Well," the voice said. "It all started thirty-six years ago, twenty before you were born." "Again," Hiccup said. "How do you know I'm sixteen? It's really creepy." "I told you," the voice said. "I can sense things. Now shut up and quit interrupting. Ahem. I was a young Nighthaven citizen, just learning the power of my ability. I had a strange magic that could teleport people (that's how I got you here) and it always showed up as tendrils of bright blue smoke and particles that acted as if they had a life of their own-I call that one that you're batting away Nosey, for it is always nosing its way into your space. I like it very much, so don't hurt it. Thank you. Anyway, I accidentally did something 'evil', as the leader referred to it-I shall not tell you; it is very shameful to me. My power was too strong at that age, and I didn't know how to control it, so terrible things happened. I was then locked in this cave, with a magic even more powerful than mine. I can't teleport myself out, but I can with other people. That's why you're here. I'm giving you two choices: either you use your dragon out there to get me out, for he knows something you don't, and I'll get revenge on my captors and everyone else, or, you can decline and refuse to help me. If you refuse, I will unleash the height of my power, which is currently at its most powerful, and I will break through this wretched imprisonment and pour my wrath onto every living being on this planet. Either way, it will not end well for anyone!" Hiccup's eyes filled with terror. "No! There must be some other way! Why can't you forgive your captors?!" "Can't you see?!," the voice hissed evilly. "Every drop of goodness has burned and fizzled out, leaving bright red embers of anger and vengence! I shall toss those embers onto the world, burning everyone at the stake with my hatred!" Why?! WHY?!," Hiccup shouted. "Why take it out on everyone?!" "Because," the voice whispered menacingly. "I have too much anger caged up inside for just Nighthaven! You must know, weakling. You HAVE to know now, that whatever decision you're going to make, be it good or bad, will only cause everyone you love pain and suffering..." "NO!," Hiccup shouted defiantly in the darkness, for the smoke had turned off its glow and disappeared. "ASTRID WILL BE SAFE! FROM YOU, AND ALL THE EVIL MAGIC YOU POSSESS! NO HARM WILL COME TO HER, MY DRAGON, OR MY FATHER!" The voice chuckled, and it sounded like wolves barking mournfully. "Oh, I wouldn't bet on it, Viking," she said. "You are afraid. I can sense that." "NO!," Hiccup said. "I'm not afraid of you; I'm scared for Astrid, Toothless, everyone who you're endangering!" "No," the voice said. "YOU'RE endangering them. Whatever choice you make will only hurt them. And, you should be afraid; you have every right to be." Hiccup silenced, considering the voice's most recent comment. It couldn't be true, it wasn't! He shook his head. "You're scared of what I'll do, aren't you?," he whispered. "No...," the voice said, with a hint of uncertainty. "Then show yourself!," Hiccup ordered. "Then you WILL be afraid," the voice protested. "Isn't that what you want?!," Hiccup said. The voice was silent for a few minutes. Then Hiccup saw two glowing lights in front of him; they were eyes... "As you wish," the voice said. The smoke returned, glowing even brighter, and something stepped into the light. It was- Hiccup gasped. A slight built dragon was standing in front of him, purple with faint red markings, and it wasn't just any species. Standing before Hiccup was a Night Fury, whose eyes burned bright blue, and from her paws a blue light eminated. "Only ever seen one Night Fury, have you, Viking?," the dragon said with an evil smirk. "But, how can you talk?," Hiccup said. "Have you not seen what I've been doing? Were you not listening when I told you I had magic?!," the Night Fury said indignantly. "Now let me out, or I shall kill you on the spot and wreak havoc on this bog pit!" "Well," Hiccup said. "It'd help with my fear if I knew your name." "Strange," the Night Fury said. "Victims usually don't care for my name. 'Tis Aura, Viking. Now, make your decision. I'm not one for patience." Hiccup sighed and slid his dagger into his belt. "Fine," he said. "Let me get my dragon, and I'll have him take care of this. Hey, what does he know that I don't?" "That Night Fury magic has locked me in here, and that only the son of the Nighthaven alpha can blow it up with a pure blue plasma blast. You see, Viking, your dragon is the son of the dragon who locked me in here! And that is why only he can get me out!," Aura hissed. "WHAT?!," Hiccup exclaimed, shocked. "This is where all the Night Furies live?!" "SHADDUP! I have told you too much already! Now get out of my scales and I might kill you last!" In the blink of an eye, Hiccup was outside and Toothless was on top of him, licking him and nickering happily. "Okay, okay, Toothless," Hiccup said. He got up and pointed at the rock pile. "Plasma blast!" A flash of blue, and rock flew everywhere. Then Aura flew out and shot a small blue bolt out of her paw. It split into two and hit each of the two companions' heads, temporarily erasing their memory of the event. Then Aura disappeared. Hiccup shook his head and tried to remeber what he was supposed to be doing. He looked up and realized that the rocks above him were too jagged for Toothless to fly out without hurting himself. Then, Hiccup heard footsteps behind him that sounded as if they were running. A blur of blue exploded around the corner and barreled into him. It was Astrid, and she wrapped her arms around Hiccup in a huge, desperate, tearful hug. The force of her embrace spun the two around. "HICCUP!," she shouted, joyful tears streaming down her freckled cheeks. "You're okay!" Stoick appeared around the corner next, followed by Stormfly and Skullcrusher. "Son!," Stoick said. He wrapped his huge arms around the two teens, hugging them both. "Thank Thor you're okay!" "I am now," Hiccup said, hugging Astrid back and smiling at his father. "I must've gotten lost or lost track of time." Astrid tightened her grip on Hiccup. "Please tell me you'll never have us split up AGAIN," she said, her voice shaky from the tears pouring down her face. "I don't want to lose you." Hiccup grinned. "Don't worry," he said. "I don't plan on coming back here anytime soon."

Ch. 6

Hiccup, Astrid, and Stoick returned to Berk. Stormfly had to carry Toothless, for he couldn't fly by himself. The reason for this was that Hiccup and Astrid were sound asleep behind Stoick on Skullcrusher. The two sixteen-year-olds had had quite a rough, terrifying, tiring experience, and they could not keep their eyes open for more than a few minutes. Hiccup was back-to-back with his father, and he had an arm around Astrid, who had her head on Hiccup's shoulder and a hand on his chest. Skullcrusher didn't have a problem with this, for he was a large, strong dragon who could carry at least a ton; Stoick, being at four hundred pounds, and the two ninety-pound teenagers were barely half that.  
Once they landed, Stoick gently shook his son awake. "Hiccup," he whispered. "Son, we're home." Hiccup's eyelids fluttered and he yawned. "Wha?," he mumbled groggily. But Stoick had already hopped off his Rumblehorn and was heading toward the Great Hall. Hiccup rubbed his eyes and looked up at the sky. It was clear, and he could see the Milky Way above him, glowing brightly with millions of stars. He sat up slowly, as not to wake up Astrid. He grinned at her affectionately. She was so pretty when she slept. Gingerly, Hiccup picked the sleeping Astrid up and hopped off Skullcrusher. Even though Hiccup landed soft as a mouse, Astrid moved slightly as she woke up. "What?," she whispered, yawning. "Where are we?" Hiccup smiled down at her as he walked to her house. "We're home," he whispered back. "Just go back to sleep." "Mmh," Astrid mumbled, snuggling up closer in Hiccup's arms. Within a minute, she had drifted off, the swaying of Hiccup's steps rocking her to sleep as he cradled her. Silently, Hiccup opened the door to Astrid's house and walked up the steps to her room. After laying a blanket over her when she was in bed, Hiccup smiled tiredly and headed back home. He pulled open the door and dragged his feet going up the stairs, eager to crawl in bed. Toothless followed, letting out a huge, noisy yawn. Hiccup chuckled and scratched his dragon's head.  
When Stoick arrived home a half an hour later to go to bed, he walked up to Hiccup's room. The boy had been so tired, he had barely made it to the bed. Half his body was on the bed, the other hanging off the side. He hadn't even mustered the strength to take off his vest. Stoick smiled and righted Hiccup's fragile, sleeping body on the bed and removed his vest, hanging it on the bedpost. He then laid a blanket over his son and started to head down the stairs. Stoick jumped when Toothless let out a thunderous snore. He shook his head and then went to bed.  
Hiccup woke up at noon the next day, wondering where the time had gone. He stretched and went downstairs, thinking about what was for breakfast. When he got down there, a bowl of porridge was on the table and Stoick was sitting next to the fire, carving. "Good to finally see you up, son," he said. "Astrid came in a few hours ago, wondering if you were up yet. I told her you had just barely made it in the bed last night, you were so tired, and that you were still sleeping off yesterday's traumatic events." Hiccup smirked and sat down for breakfast-er, lunch. He ate ravenously, for he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. Toothless plodded down the stairs and yipped when he saw Hiccup eating. Indignant, the dragon plopped down next to Hiccup and glared at him, smoke twirling out of his nose. "Where's MINE?!" Skullcrusher let out a snort of a laugh from under the stairs and Toothless whipped around, giving the Rumblehorn a look so fierce he should've burst into flames on the spot. Hiccup grinned. "Toothless, you can't eat this!" Toothless stuck out his lower lip slightly and huffed, pouting. Stoick chuckled and tossed the dragon a fish. "Happy now?," he laughed. Toothless scarfed it down messily.  
Satisfied, the two headed outside for some fresh air. They laid down on their backs on a grassy knoll, admiring the bright blue sky and warm Nordic summer air. Then, a shadow appeared over Hiccup and he looked above him. Astrid was standing over him, grinning in a loving, yet mischievious way. "Well, hello there, M'lady," Hiccup said with a smirk. "What brings you to my grassy knoll?" "YOUR grassy knoll?," Astrid laughed. "It's closer to my house than yours," Hiccup said. Astrid giggled. "That doesn't make it yours." Hiccup grinned. "Okay," he suggested. "How about we make it OUR grassy knoll?" "Sounds fine to me," Astrid said, laying down next to Hiccup. "Wow," she whispered after a moment. "Sure is beautiful, isn't it?" "Yeah," Hiccup said, casting a meaningful glance at Astrid (whose name, if you didn't know already, means "Divine Beauty" in Old North Germanic). She appeared to have noticed that glance, and she grinned mischeviously at Hiccup. "Race you!," she yelled suddenly, jumping up and running down the hill. "Where?!," Hiccup shouted after her, getting up to run as well. "Anywhere!," Astrid called over her shoulder playfully. Hiccup smirked and ran after her, Toothless following at a slightly slower pace. The two chased each other for about an hour, running through the fields that were growing taller as the summer progressed. At one point, Astrid had disappeared into the tall grass, and Hiccup looked around, confused. Then, Astrid came out of nowhere and pounced on Hiccup, knocking him over into the grass and sending clouds of grasshoppers and tiny dragons shooting into the air. They rolled over and over in the grass, laughing uncontrollably. Then, some pollen got into Hiccup's nose, and he sneezed. For some unknown reason, Astrid thought this was hilarious and started laughing even harder, causing tears to stream down her face (she was probably high on fun and found everything amusing because of this). Her laughing made Hiccup want to laugh, and so, after a few minutes, they were lying in the grass in a pathetic, gasping heap, still having spasms in their guts from laughing. "Oh, okay," Astrid said, wiping her eyes. "I...think I'm...good now..." "Oh, Thor," Hiccup gasped. "Can't...breathe...don't...care though...too...much...fun..." Once the two had caught their breath and regained composure, Astrid slapped Hiccup's arm and jumped up, running off again. "You're it!" "What?!," Hiccup laughed. "We're playing 'Tag' now?" "Sure, why not?!" Again they chased each other, Toothless desperately trying to keep up. Finally, he just gave up and headed home.  
It was dusk by the time the two teens returned to the village. Both were sweaty, red-faced, and out of breath. "That was fun," Astrid panted. "Yeah," Hiccup said breathlessly. Stoick was outside waiting for them when Hiccup and Astrid got to his house. "Well," Stoick said with a grin. "What've you two been doing with your day?" Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other, then burst out laughing. Stoick shook his head and invited them both in for supper. "Why?," Astrid asked. "If a young Viking wants to make an impression on a girl he's got to have her over for dinner," Stoick said, grinning at his son. "DAA-aaaad!," Hiccup moaned, blushing. Astrid giggled shyly. Stoick marched inside the house and Hiccup held open the door for Astrid. Toothless was already inside, gorging himself on fish. Once he caught sight of Stoick setting an extra dish on the table, he moaned and got up to go upstairs. Why were these two lovebirds everywhere he went?! It was profoundly irritating, it was.

Ch. 7

The next week went uneventful, with the days growing hotter and more , a storm was brewing, literally and figuratively. A wet wind blew in from the west, warning of a huge thunderstorm. Toothless seemed a little edgy lately, sensing that something powerful was coming. And, unfortunately, everyone was going about their buisness, hopelessly oblivious to their potential oblivion.  
Hiccup was in the smithy, working on a new tail and saddle design for Toothless. This one would run down the dragon's back, splitting in the middle to make room for the spines. The left stirrup would have a rod that stuck out, and on which Hiccup would lock his prosthetic (because of this, he was also modifying his prosthetic) and there would also be a lever that Hiccup could pull once he kicked the rod forward to lock Toothless's tail open. The saddle pad would have an actual seat-cushion-thing, instead of the stiff leather pad. It would also house two handles that Hiccup could fold back and forth when riding Toothless, instead of the two sets of rings that were on the old neckstrap. Finally, the tailfin would still be red, but the skull motiff would be different. It was to be a slightly more complicated design, with circle eyes, three teeth on the top jaw, three on the bottom, two jaws instead of just the one, and bigger horns that curved over the top of the head.  
Hiccup was very proud of the new flight mechanism. He couldn't wait to finish it and get it on Toothless; test out the locking mechanism, work the handles, try out his new foot... Now all he had to do was figure out what to build first. For an hour Hiccup sat there, scanning his blueprints and puzzling. Then Astrid came in and looked like she was about to say something, but stopped suddenly as she noticed the millions of sketches, blueprints, rejected ideas, and crumpled-up mess-ups that littered the floor. She picked one up, and it was an idea for Hiccup's new leg. She grinned. "So, what's the new project?" "Well," Hiccup said. "I'm working on a new flying mechanism for Toothless, which also includes my foot. The problem is, I don't know where to start." Astrid tilted her head thoughtfully, examining the blueprint. "Why don't you start with this?," she said after a minute. "What is it?," Hiccup asked, getting up to look at the parchment. "It's one of your new foot designs," Astrid said. Hiccup stood next to her and looked over her shoulder. "I really like the design of this one," Astrid said, pointing to the pictures, sketches and diagrams on the blueprint. "Yeah," Hiccup said uncertainly, scratching his head. "I don't know about that one...it doesn't look like it would work..." "It could," Astrid said with a shrug. "See, with this one part here, it would make it really sturdy, despite the fact you'd have to keep it lubricated for it to be able to flip around to this riding attachment here. And, instead of metal for the top, just wrap it in leather so it doesn't slip. Then, you'd just attach it to your leg the same way you always do." "You mean like this?," Hiccup grinned. He balanced on his right foot, untwisted the leg with a flick of the wrist, tossed it into the air, fumbled and almost dropped it, jumping forward on the one foot, caught the leg and flipped it again before twisting it back on. Astrid laughed. "Exactly," she said. "Those are some good ideas," Hiccup said. "But I still don't know what to work on first." "Well," Astrid said, laying the paper on the desk. "Let's look at some others." The two sat on the floor and sorted through the designs. Astrid would find one that she liked, as would Hiccup, and then, if it was the same object, they'd add or take away from both of them, combining the properties of the two. At one point, Astrid found a tailfin design that she liked and offered Hiccup some ammendments, as he was examining another tailfin sketch. "Okay," Hiccup said. "I noticed that, whenever I'm flying on Toothless, the tailfin seems to drag a little and flutter. I don't know how to fix it." Astrid grabbed a pencil and circled the fin on the paper. "Your first problem is that you're making the leather a little thick and you're working it too hard," she said. "See, the material's thickness will add weight, causing the drag. Then, when you make the fin, you always push it too hard. That'll cause fluttering, even when it's stretched tight. So, I suggest that you make the leather thinner and try soaking it in Nadder saliva overnight. It'll stay firm for a year." "And how would you know this?," Hiccup asked with a crooked grin. "One night I accidentally spilled chicken stew on my old saddle-don't ask how, 'cuz I do NOT know," Astrid said. "So I left it out to dry. Then, Stormfly smelled it, and, you know how much she loves chicken. As you can guess, she licked the entire thing, upside-down front-to-back and inside-out. So, the next morning I went to put it on Stormfly, and the thing was stiff as a board. That's why I had you make a new one for me. Turns out, it actually softens up after two nights in the rain. That happened a year after you made the new one, and the old one was back to normal." Astrid shrugged, and Hiccup laughed and shook his head, wondering if this would even work. But, after being inseperable for two years, Hiccup knew that whatever Astrid suggested would probably work. So, he wrote down the suggestion in a notebook and tossed it onto the desk.  
The two of them sat on the ground of the smithy 'till midnight, going through ideas and designs, modifying them as needed. Gobber had been at some fun, late-night event at the Great Hall, and he was heading toward the smithy when he saw the dim, flickering glow of a candle through the window. Curious, he peeked in the door and grinned at what he saw. Hiccup and Astrid were fast asleep on the floor, papers and blueprints draped over them like blankets. As they were right next to each other earlier, Hiccup and Astrid were snuggled up close, taking in deep, exhausted breaths as they slept. Astrid's head was on Hiccup's shoulder and her arm was draped across his chest, as if she was going to gesture to something on a paper. Hiccup was leaned up against the wall and he still was holding a saddle blueprint in his limp, tired hand. His hand was still tilted upward, as if showing Astrid the sketch, and the paper flopped over the back of Hiccup's hand. Gobber snuck over to the teens and gently pulled the design out of Hiccup's hand. The sheet slid seemlessly out of the boy's fingers without a sound, his fingers limp and relaxed. Gobber examined the blueprint and grinned proudly at the progess of his apprentice's work. He set the paper on the desk and took a large, thin, well-worked leather remnant that served well as a sheet off the shelf. Silently, he draped the leather over the two sleeping teenagers and backed out of the shop, watching them affectionately. To Gobber, Hiccup wasn't just an apprentice, he was like a son. And, when Hiccup was in this state, sleeping soundly, with the one he loved by his side, it warmed Gobber's hard, metal-forged heart.  
As he left the smithy, Gobber snuck one last look in the doorway. Astrid sighed contentedly in her sleep and snuggled closer to Hiccup, a small, crooked smile forming on her face. Hiccup pulled his legs closer to his chest and half-turned, facing Astrid...more or less. The old blacksmith grinned tiredly and blew out the candle, then headed over to Stoick's. When he got to the hut, he knocked on the door. To his surprise, Stoick was still awake. "Where's Hiccup?," the tired chief asked. Gobber grinned. "He's fast asleep on the floor of the shop, curled up with Astrid after having an exhausting day," he explained. "I didn't want to wake the boy; he looked so peaceful. And, with that tough little lass snuggled up next to him like a kitten, there really was no reason to wake the couple." Stoick smiled. "He's growing up, my boy," he said, sharpening his axe. "He's turning into a chief, the greatest one this tribe will ever have. Better than me, I will admit, and I'm not ashamed to. That boy will bring glory to the tribe, but he'll be humble about it, not accepting any more from people than what he is. Hiccup can be stubborn, but that's only when what he's forced to do what really is not right. Other than that, he's a humble soul with a servant's heart, and I doubt anyone would rebel against him when he's chief." Gobber smiled and yawned. "See?," he said. "Even though he didn't start out how you wanted him to, how he was gangly and skinny and weak, he turned out to be a mirror image of Valka...and your personality, of course." Stoick sighed. "Yes, he sure does look like his mother," he said sadly, missing the love of his life immensely. "It's been sixteen years, Gobber. Sixteen years since my dear Valka was abducted during that dragon raid. Oh, I wonder when I'll see her again." "You have to be proud of your son, though," Gobber said. "And the special someone he's found to spend the rest of his life with. Their relationship reflects yours and Valka's perfectly. How they like to tease each other, how they are sometimes awkward around each other...how they are completely inseperable. Kinda reminds you of you and Valka...right?" Stoick grinned. It was true; Hiccup and that little Nordic jewel Astrid, were inseperable, always together, never doing anything by themselves. Stoick was proud of his son's choice for a girlfriend, though the two teenagers never admitted to their relationship like that. Take Astrid's desperate protest the other day. "He is NOT my boyfriend!" This claim was quickly denied however, for Astrid's freckled, angellically imperfect cheeks had turned beet-red and her eyes were terrified for Hiccup and his disappearance.  
Stoick yawned. "Well, better let them sleep. They need it. So do you, Gobber. You look a little beat." Gobber stretched and limped out the door, heading home. Stoick smiled and set his axe on the table and headed off to bed.

The two teenagers awoke the next morning, confused as to why they were on the ground in the smithy.  
At first, they were groggy, not caring about their sleepy embrace. Then they turned over and, when their noses touched and their lips were only an inch apart, they both yelped and sat up, stuttering awkwardly. Both blushing terribly, they tried to avoid the meeting of their eyes. "Er, um, that was...so...uhh," Hiccup said. Astrid coughed. "W-wow...so...I...you...what...h-h-how...uh, wow, just...woah...," she stammered. Hiccup cleared his throat, then hurriedly stood up and started picking up papers. "Uhh, I-I-I think I'll just, ah, organize these. Yes. Okay. Organizing papers," he said, embarassed. "Ohh, I REALLY hope my dad doesn't know," Hiccup thought. "That will end badly...and really awkwardly."  
Astrid got up and folded up the leather blanket, then stopped for a second. "Hey, how'd we end up on the floor anyway?," she called to Hiccup, who was on the other end of the shop. He shrugged, grabbing more papers. "And, who put the blanket over us?," Astrid continued, putting the blanket on the shelf. "I know it wasn't you." Hiccup shrugged again. After cleaning up all the papers, he set them in a huge pile on the study desk. "Well," he said. "I'd better head home. A certain someone is gonna be wondering where I am, and yours truly is gonna be in a heap of trouble...probably..." Astrid giggled and punched Hiccup in the shoulder. "Yeah, you deal with that," she said. "I'll check in on you when you're locked in your room." Hiccup laughed. "It wasn't my fault we ended up on the floor asleep together." "I know," Astrid grinned. She reached up and gave Hiccup a quick kiss on the cheek. "See ya when you can come out!," she called over her shoulder, sashaying home. "Good thing my parents are on a trip right now! They'll never know!" "Lucky," Hiccup muttered playfully. He headed home and pulled open the heavy wood door, only to see Stoick waiting for him. "Oh, uh, h-h-hi, dad...," Hiccup stammered. "So, son, how'd you sleep last night?," Stoick said with a smile. "Do I really need to answer that question?," Hiccup said. "Don't worry; I already know," Stoick said, sitting down. "Gobber told me last night after finding to two of you curled up on the floor, fast asleep." "Sooooo," Hiccup said. "You're...not mad? 'Cuz, it wasn't my fault. We just fell asleep there after sorting through papers for a whole day." "Why should I be?," Stoick said. "All you did was fall asleep. Why would I be angry at you for sleeping? And, besides, you and Astrid remind me of your mother and I when we were younger. I can totally relate; what happened last night happened multiple times when I was stressed out and working. Your mother would come in to comfort me, we'd work through the problem, and end up so tired we'd fall asleep together on the floor or in a chair...before we got married. Afterwards doesn't really help you very much." Hiccup sighed, relieved. Then he laughed at himself for worrying. All he did was sleep. Was that bad? No. Astrid was with him, but did that matter? No. Hiccup called Toothless down and he headed back to the smithy. That's when everything went horribly wrong.

Ch. 8

Hiccup was working on his new foot in the smithy when Aura appeared, screaming her anger out to the whole Archipelago as if it was deaf.  
Now Hiccup was holding the door shut with boxes and crates, shielding Astrid in the back of the shop, with Toothless covering his head with his paws and whimpering. "Hiccup," Astrid whispered shakily. "What is that thing?" Hiccup didn't want to believe it, but it was true, and now it ricocheted off the inside of his conscience painfully, telling him that everyone he loved would be gone. "It's Aura," he said gloomily. "Who?!" Hiccup watched the purple blur streaking through the sky with blue smoke trailing off her wings. "Aura," he said. "Is the reason I disappeared on Blackrock. She's a magical Night Fury who can speak Norse, and she kidnapped me with magic, forced me to let her out, and then erased my memory of the event temporarily. She's deep purple with blood-red markings, has blue eyes, and a slight reddish tinge to certain areas of her eyes. She was locked up in a cave thirty-six years ago with magic even more powerful than hers, and now she wants to kill everyone!" "W-w-w-well, Hiccup," Astrid said, terrified tears forming in her eyes. "I-if she's m-m-magical, then, you kn-kn-know that we're n-not s-s-s-safe here, right?" Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "I know," he whispered defiantly, eyes watering angrily. Outside, Aura was destroying things with powerful blasts of blue death and shrieking, "HICCUP! HICCUP, COME OUT, YOU WEAKLING COWARD OF A VIKING!" Astrid pressed up close to Hiccup and trembled horribly. "Hiccup, you need to go. You're not safe here." Hiccup held Astrid's hands and stared out the window. "No, I'm staying here with you," he said. "Otherwise, Aura will find you, pick you out, and kill you on the spot. If I stay here wih you, you'll have a chance at making it out. I don't want happening to you what happened to my mother!" "But-" All of a sudden, a blue explosion tore open the smithy. Astrid screamed and ran to the other side of the smithy, pulling Hiccup with her. Toothless yipped and joined them. "Hiccup," Aura hissed, picking out the teenager. "Come and fight me like a REAL Viking, like the ones I used to know." "Oh yeah?!," Hiccup shouted defiantly. "If you were a REAL dragon, you'd be fighting with your teeth and claws, not your magic! This is just proving that you're the weak one if you don't fight like every other normal dragon!" Aura roared furiously and launched at the three companions. Hiccup grabbed Astrid and hopped on Toothless, speeding upwards into the gray, stormy sky. They disappeared into the clouds, trying to be as silent as possible. The rain pelted their skin, and Astrid cried silently, her tears filled with the most terror a human could ever have, and then some, to the point where it was unhealthy at this age. Hiccup's eyes were watering at the prospect of all his loved ones being killed, but never fully shedding tears. Then, the clouds burned with blue fire and Aura shrieked, her anger setting everything to flame (note: this is a figure of speech). Toothless sped off through the clouds, whimpering. Astrid wrapped her arms around Hiccup tighter, and that's when she saw Aura. See, when Hiccup picked up Astrid, he did it so she was on his lap, and now she could see over his shoulder. "Hiccup...," Astrid said slowly. "You're not gonna like this..." Hiccup looked behind him, but it was too late. A spiral of blue magic was speeding towards Toothless's head, and it hit home. He roared in pain, and plummeted toward the ground. "TOOTHLESS!," Hiccup shouted fearfully, holding onto Astrid to keep her from falling. The black dragon crashed to the ground and threw Hiccup and Astrid off and rolling. Hiccup grabbed Astrid's hand and ran over to the downed Night Fury. "Toothless!," he said. "You okay, bud?!" Toothless shook his head and opened his eyes, but an extraordinary thing was happening. The magic caused his paws to glow, and when he looked at them, a navy blue lightning bolt was on each palm. Another bolt was burning bright on his forehead. "Toothless...," Hiccup said cautiously. He backed Astrid up, sensing that something was happening. All of a sudden, dark purple smoke shot out of Toothless's paws and hit an elderly villager, turning him into a wrinkled old Gronckle. Hiccup got an idea. "Toothless! Over here! If we're all dragons, we'll be able to take down Aura!" He looked at Astrid, who nodded in determined agreement. Toothless shot more purple magic out of his paws, and, within a second, three dragons were sitting there. Hiccup was a forest green Night Fury with grass green eyes and darker green swirls around his eyes and brown freckles under his eyes and on his nose. Then he looked at Astrid, and nearly fell over. She was a bright blue Night Fury, instead of a Nadder, and she had darker blue markings around her body. The young, feminine, yet tough dragoness had dark blue and white freckles under her large, aquamarine eyes and on her nose.  
"Woah...," was all Hiccup could say, and he could feel his dark, scaled cheeks turning red flirtatiously. Astrid laughed and batted Hiccup with her wing. "You like this, don't you?," she said, gesturing to her new look. Hiccup nodded slightly, then stopped as he realized that he didn't know what to say. Astrid laughed again and gave Hiccup a lick on the cheek. "Come on, let's go end this madness!" The three Night Furies took off into the sky and searched for Aura. "Wait, Toothless!," Hiccup shouted. "How are you flying?!" "I don't know!," Toothless replied. "Woah, I can understand you," Hiccup said. "Well," Toothless said. "You ARE a dragon now." "Anyway," Hiccup continued. "How can you fly, and why do you have lightning bolt markings that only show with the magic?" Toothless looked at his tail. The prosthetic was still there, but it was open and sparkling with purple magic. "Well, flying is due to magic, and the only reason I can think of for the markings is that my father had navy blue lightning bolt markings and extremely powerful magic. Usually, it's the dragonesses that have magic, but a rare few drakes have magic, and when they do, it's very powerful. I only got a little of it from my father, and it's usually locked in my plasma blasts. I think Aura shooting me with her magic must've boosted mine and made the bolts appear." Hiccup furrowed his brow and looked at Astrid, who shrugged her blue freckled shoulders.  
Then, Aura screamed up out of nowhere and nearly ripped off Hiccup's tail. "HICCUP! WATCH OUT!," Astrid shouted, darting out of the way. Hiccup looked over his shoulder and yelped as Aura sped towards him again. Hiccup beat his wings as fast as possible, following Astrid and Toothless. Astrid glanced behind her, and yipped in terror. Hiccup saw it, too, and it wasn't good. Aura was gaining and her magic was winding its way to the three dragons with a vengence. "Go! GO! KEEP FLYING!," Hiccup shouted, shoving Astrid forward. "Toothless, take her back to the village! I'll see what I can do about Aura!" "But-," both Astrid and Toothless said at the same time. "JUST GO!," Hiccup shouted fearfully. Toothless nodded solemnly and grabbed Astrid, who was crying in the fear for her friend. The black dragon wrapped his wings around Astrid and dove towards the village. Hiccup whipped around and braced himself for Aura. The purple dragon was roaring toward him, screeching insults and discouragements. Hiccup held 'till the last second, then fired a plasma blast out of his mouth and straight at Aura. It exploded on impact, and Aura plummeted with a shriek. Hiccup smirked and went to find Astrid and Toothless.  
Astrid was sitting on the grassy knoll that she and Hiccup had claimed as their "special place", crying and watching for Hiccup to come back. Toothless was sitting next to her, staring at the clouds defiantly. All of a sudden, there was a huge blue explosion in the clouds and something purple streaked out of them in a cloud of smoke. Astrid gasped in delight and took off without thinking, flying up into the clouds to find Hiccup. "Astrid! Wait!," Toothless shouted, flying after her. But Astrid couldn't hear him; she was too busy scanning the clouds for Hiccup.  
Hiccup flew through the clouds, looking for Astrid and Toothless through them. He knew they were close by; with his Night Fury nose, he could smell Toothless's campfire-smelling scales, and Astrid's feminine, strangely flowery and woodsy smelling scales. All of a sudden, he heard Astrid shout his name, and he saw a blue dragon speeding towards him. "Hiccup!," Astrid shouted gleefully. "Astrid!," Hiccup shouted. The two flew towards each other, reaching out their forelimbs for a hug. Then, a blur of purple and crimson barreled into Astrid and knocked her to the ground. "ASTRID!," Hiccup yelled. He flew after Aura, speeding to the island's beach where the purple dragon was headed. Toothless followed.  
Hiccup landed and skidded to a stop, kicking up sand and gravel. He looked up at Aura, who was on her hind legs and holding Astrid by the neck high above the ground. Aura had a wickedly sharp claw to Astrid's neck, and a fine line of blood was already starting to run down the pale blue scales. Astrid had tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to move away from the claw, but Aura pressed it against her neck harder, opening a larger wound and shedding more blood.  
"LET HER GO!," Hiccup ordered. "Or you'll what?!," Aura hissed. "See, she's an inch away from death right now! Did you not listen when I said everyone you love will be caused pain and suffering?! Because you obviously think you can save her! Well, I'd like to see you try. You said I was the weak one, for only using my magic! I use my magic for traumatizing my victims ONLY. I kill them physically, claw-to-claw, and I intend to do that with your loved ones, like...Astrid, was it? Hmm, 'Divine Beauty'. That name certainly won't be suitable once I'm through with you." "NO!," Hiccup shouted. He lunged at Aura, who neatly sidestepped him and sent him sprawling into the sand. "You want to fight me, Viking?!," Aura snarled. "I can, and I will!," Hiccup said, shaking out his wings and standing up. "I'm a dragon now!" "Fine!," Aura said. "We'll fight the way dragons have for generations, by teeth and claws and fire!" Aura threw Astrid to the ground and got on all fours. "Toothless! Watch her!," Hiccup ordered. Toothless nodded and shielded Astrid's limp and unconcious body (blood loss and the impact of hitting the ground had knocked her out).  
The two Night Furies, one old and magical, the other young and really a human, circled each other on the beach. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed and rain poured, turning the beach to mud. The dragons circled, rain pouring off their hides and their ears flat against their necks. They hissed and snarled and growled, testing each other. Finally, Aura made a swipe at Hiccup and he ducked just in time. Aura lunged at him and the two rolled in the mud, biting and scratching. Within minutes, each dragon was mangled and the mud puddles had turned red. Hiccup lay on the ground, panting shakily and breathing shallowly. Aura stood over him, grinning evilly. Her markings seemed to glow and her teeth were stained with blood. "Give up, Viking," she hissed. "You know you can't win this. Just let me put you out of your misery." Hiccup looked up into Aura's evil, glowing eyes weakly. She seemed to relax a little, knowing that this kid would soon be out of her way. Hiccup blinked. "N-no," he coughed. Slowly, he staggered to his feet and turned to face Aura. "I will NOT give up. I'll sacrifice myself to make sure my family, which includes my dragon and Astrid, is safe. I don't care; I will make sure you are gone so they won't have to worry." From under Toothless, Astrid had woken up and was watching weakly. "No," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "No, Hiccup, don't do it..." Aura's hackles rose and she snarled, showing her bloody teeth. Hiccup braced himself, his legs shaking. Aura made a final leap of death and barreled into Hiccup. They fought, burning and biting and slicing. Finally, Aura had Hiccup pinned, the mud soaking into his cuts and making him wince. Aura dug her claws into Hiccup's forearms and he cried out in pain.  
"Make your last wish, Viking," she coughed. "Because you're not going to be here any longer." "HICCUP!," Astrid screamed, tears pouring out of her eyes. Toothless looked away sadly, knowing there was nothing he could do. Hiccup stared up into Aura's eyes, weak but brave. "Fine," he said. With a quick flick of the wrist, he shook off Aura's paw from his arm and slashed at her underside. Aura shrieked and staggered backward, clutching her chest. Hiccup stood up and walked towards her. Aura looked at her paw, which was shaking and red. All her magic was leaving her in visible drifts of smoke, and she was weak. Aura fell to the ground and smiled contentedly. "I'm finally going home," she whispered. "I'm sorry, everyone who I caused pain. I was just mad for not being listened to." She gazed up at the clouds weakly. "Forgive me, O Great Starwing. Let me into your home above the Earth where I'll be happy and worry free and where I can apologize to everyone, for I didn't have time to here." With that, Aura gave a final sigh and closed her eyes. The clouds parted above her, and the starry, ghost-like face of a Night Fury appeared and smiled down on the scene. "Come home, little one." The body of Aura disappeared slowly and a swirl of stars floated up to the sky, and eventually the clouds closed again and the rain eased.  
Hiccup panted heavily, realizing how exhausted he was, and staggered backwards. He collapsed in the mud, and closed his eyes, unconcious. "Hiccup!," Astrid shouted. She bounded through the mud and held Hiccup's head in her paws. "Come on! Get up!" She pulled his head to hers and she pressed her forehead against his, tears pouring out of her tighty closed eyes. Toothless joined them and wrapped his wings around them. "Master! You have to wake up!" They sat there in the silence and mud, rain dripping gently onto their scales. Then, something made a large thud as it landed. Two somethings, actually. Stoick, on Skullcrusher, and Gobber, on his Hotburple Grump, splashed into the mud. Toothless looked over his shoulder and saw Stoick. Stoick ran through the mud and opened Toothless's wings. At first, all he saw were two young Night Furies, each about the size of Toothless. But, then he saw the cut on the blue one's neck, and the green one's gashes, and, as he scanned the green one, he saw a metal prosthetic on the left hind foot that looked like Hiccup's...  
"Hiccup!," Stoick said. Gently, he took his son from the crying Astrid and scanned him, despite the fact that he was currently a dragon. Gobber joined them.  
Stoick looked up at Gobber, a small, proud smile on his face. "The boy's alive," he said. "He's just a little worse for wear and doesn't look like his usual self. But he's Hiccup, all right, and what he did is exactly what his mother would've done in this situation. How he ended up a dragon, I do not know." Then Stoick looked at Astrid soothingly as the clouds started to move away, casting a ray of sunlght on the group. "He'll be all right, lass," Stoick said, putting a hand on the dragoness's shoulder. "Don't you worry. Within a few weeks he'll be all healed up and good as new." Astrid nodded and sniffled. Stoick loaded the prone Night Fury onto Skullcrusher's back, and Toothless carried Astrid the way home, for his tail was still open. They flew home, and the storm left the Archipelago.

Ch. 9

Hiccup woke up, bandages all around his middle and around his head. He was a human now, and he was pretty sore. But, when he looked at the bandages, there was no blood, even when he took them off. Toothless came up next to him and smiled. The lightning markings were gone, and Hiccup rubbed his dragon's head. "I'm assuming that your magic went away, and when it did, I went back to normal and all my injuries are in my dragon form," he said. Toothless nodded. Hiccup got out of bed and went downstairs for a drink of water. He got some from the barrel and drank, as yesterday's events made him extremely thirsty. Hiccup went outside, and it was sunny and warm, so he ditched his vest and tossed it on the chair. He headed to Astrid and his grassy knoll and laid there, soaking up the sun and letting it soothe his aches. All of a sudden, something barreled into him and wrapped its arms around him, rolling him over and over in the grass. It was Astrid, and she was more than a little happy to see Hiccup.  
"Hiccup! You're okay!," she shouted tearfully. "Oh, thank Thor you're all right!" She tightened her embrace, and Hiccup smiled and hugged her back. "Yes, Astrid, I'm fine," he said. Astrid grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gave him an overjoyed kiss on the lips, surprising him to no end. When she pulled away, Hiccup blinked. "And I'm even better now," he said, smiling. Astrid laughed and rolled off Hiccup, jumping to her feet. "Wanna play 'Tag'?," she said mischieviously. Hiccup laughed and stood up, Astrid taking off down the hill. Hiccup grinned and ran after her, underneath the bright blue, sunny Nordic skies.

"You have the heart of a chief, and the soul of a dragon."  
-Valka


End file.
